The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AN active weekend for Bahamian basketball players in NCAA Division I was highlighted by a career high effort on the boards, late game heroics and another disappointing injury in Houston.

Senior forward Kentwan Smith grabbed a career high 16 rebounds and added 10 points to finish with a double double in his Stetson Hatters’ 61-56 loss to the Kennesaw State Owls. Smith shot 3-9 from the field and six of his boards came on the offensive end.

It was his sixth double double of the season, five of which have come since the calendar flipped to 2015 and his production increased.

On the season, the 6’8” 205 pound Smith is averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 52 per cent from the floor and 34 per cent from three.

Stetson closed out the home portion of their 2015 schedule when they hosted the Jacksonville Dolphins last night. Smith was one of two seniors honoured in the pregame ceremonies.

It was a tough shooting day for Buddy Hield, but his timely shots down the stretch helped lift the No.17 ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 79-75 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in overtime.

Hield shot 3-13 from the floor, 2-8 from beyond the arch and scored just eight points.

It was his first single digit scoring output since late November when he finished with nine points against Wisconsin at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

It broke a streak of 20 consecutive double digit scoring outings for Hield. However, Sooners head coach Lon Kruger said it was a good sign that the remainder of the roster was able to step up with their leading scorer struggling and in foul trouble.

“I think the maturity of this club is continuing to show,” he said. “I think we continue to grow, and obviously, we would prefer Buddy (Hield) also make shots along with these guys, but there are nights like that. He’ll bounce back and do well.”

Hield was 1-10 from the field in regulation but hit back-to-back three pointers in overtime.

The Houston Cougars continue to struggle in American Athletic Conference as they fell to 9-17 overall, 1-13 in league play with a 63-53 loss to Cincinnati.

While Danrad Knowles continues to flourish, LJ Rose will again be sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time with an apparent leg injury.

Knowles finished one rebound shy of a double double with 16 points and nine rebounds. He shot an efficient 5-7 from the field, including 2-3 from three point range, a perfect 4-4 from the line and added three blocked shots. Before he was forced to leave the game with the injury after just 14 minutes, Rose scored five points.

Just one game prior, he scored a career high 25 points in a loss to South Florida.

Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson said the loss of Rose was just too much for his team to overcome.

“We felt like this was a game we could win. We’re not set up to play without LJ,” he said. “I don’t know if L.J. is the best point guard in this conference. You can make an argument for the kids from SMU, Tulsa and Connecticut. They’re pretty good, but there is no argument that the most valuable point guard to his team in this league is L.J. Rose. We don’t have another ball handler. We just don’t.”

On the year, Rose was averaging 9.8 points, 5.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.